SP 11

Goody! There's going to be lots of blog-reading and gift buying and all-round secret stuff coming up between now and November, and no, I am not doing my Xmas shopping early this year. (AAArgh, I've just broken my never mention you-know-what before November embargo.) I'm doing something MUCH better. I've signed up for the latest Secret Pal knitting exchange. And here are my answers to the SP11 questionnaire, as whilst I'm busy devising treats and surprises for an anonymous someone, somewhere a different anonymous someone, somewhere wll be doing the same for me!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love natural fibres, especially wool, bamboo, cashmere and blends of any of these with nylon. I find that mohair makes me sneeze (though I get round that by storing it in the freezer) and I don't often use cotton. As for "fibres you absolutely do not like" can there really be such a thing?

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I've got needle rolls, pencil pots, biscuit tins, carrier bags. My husband would probably sigh and point out that despite all these storage options there are still many hooks and needles strewn (apparently) randomly around the house.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for almost 30 years, and crocheting for 2. I'd say I'm intermediate at both.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No!

5. What's your favorite scent?
The scent of yarn! But I also love lemons, lemongrass, bergamot and woody smells, also lavender and geranium.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I love dried fruit (except prunes, yuk) and dark chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I crochet, hand paint yarn and do a little bit of feltmaking. I've signed up for dayschools in felt and nuno felt during October and November. I'm not terribly good at drop spindling but a certain spouse has been dropping hints about spinning wheels...

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like world and folk music, early music (especially medieval dance tunes) and contemporary classical music (well, some of it anyway!). My computer refuses to play MP3s, sob.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like most of the colours found in nature, especially grassy and citrussy greens and berry colours of any description. But I do not like bottle green (yes, my school uniform was bottle green; if you watch the Harry Potter films, think Slytherin!) When it comes to yarns, I adore multi-coloured yarns, especially Noro.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with the world's best man, his daughter (aged 27) and a 16-year old tortoisehell cat, who is the gentlest cat ever.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Accessories.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Nothing! But I'm about to cast on some bootees and I'm busily crocheting funky brooches out of cotton perle embroidery thread.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Is there anything better?

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
All of them, depending on how the mood takes me and how the implements and yarn get on. I have to say that I'm also influenced by looks (peace fleece needles and Britanny crochet hooks!) and colour. I do not like Pony brand crochet hooks as they make almost everything split.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I've a very ricketty metal skein holder that belonged to my grandma. Also my husband can be very useful for holding skeins. I'm the ball winder.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I dread to think, but take heart from the fact that my mother completed a short-sleeved jumper over 40 years after she started it.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I love coast and countryside (in the UK and overseas) and enjoy exploring European cities. Yarn shopping is compulsory and steam trains should be prsent whenever possible.
edited to add: have just realised that I've based my answer on the British English definiton of "holiday" (vacation) rather than the American English one (something along the lines of festival/national holiday) for which I have no answer...!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn! and I'm slowly building a collection of prints/postcards featuring people knitting.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I've reached the stage where technique-type books are more alluring than patterns but I still can't get enough vintage or regional/ethnic/folk-type knitting books and social history. I don't subscribe to any mags but regularly buy Interweave Knits, Knit 1 and Selvedge (a wonderful textiles mag published in the UK).


21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Patience!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I flirt with sock knitting but suffer second sock syndrome. My feet are a UK size 6.5-7 (continental 40) and rather wide (as are my calves).


23. When is your birthday?
2 November

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
I'm awaiting my invite (see q21).

A very hard act to follow

Sorry about recent blog silence but have been deeply immersed in


(a) crochet: 3 scarves and about 14 corsages in the last 10 days! However, to stave off another bout of RSI I made sure that I also did plenty of...


(b) reading:

whilst I don't know any of R S Thomas's poetry (yet!) I was seduced into buying this book by a review in The Guardian. And I agree with those eulogies you can probably just about make out on the cover ( "A biography touched by genius" "Brilliant and unique....A masterpiece") It is also quite irritating at times, swinging around wildly from narrator to narrator, place to place, time to time (I'm too used to dry-as-dust, sequential academic tomes) but, oh, what fun. And so moving.

Beautifully produced, too, with endpapers that look as though they may have been by Stanley Spencer (or maybe, at a push, Laura Knight) but which turn out to have been by M E Eldridge, who--until I read this book--was just a name on the back of a postcard (published by Medici, in the 80s, I think) of exquisite illustrations of mice and foliage including a rosemary branch (which is why I, Rosemary, had it on my desk for many years). It turns out that "M E" was Thomas's wife, Elsi, who clearly merits a biography (and illustrated catalogue) of her own. (And I need a course in how to avoid overusing parantheses).

patient, moi?

One thing that amuses me when I tell people that my number one hobby is knitting is the number of times that I get the response "Oh, you must be very patient". Oh no I'm not. But I've just checked on Ravelry, and it seems as though I'm going to have to be...

Found you!
You signed up on June 25, 2007
You are #11030 on the list.
4015 people are ahead of you in line.
9921 people are behind you in line.
33% of the list has been invited so far

Sigh...

Still at least it is a case of the 9k+ being behind me, rather than in front.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I've been quite subdued this week, as my Uncle Claude (dad's younger brother) died on Monday. Claude was my godfather, as well as my uncle, and I spent nearly a year living with him and my Auntie Joan in 1981-2, whilst I was doing a secretarial course. They made me so welcome! I'm never going to forget my Uncle's smile(the widest I ever saw) nor the fact that he taught me how to do running stitch quickly. (I was so surprised that A MAN could sew).

But I've finished Harry Potter (loved it!), crocheted a scarf and a corsage, my KTog mates kept me smiling on Tuesday night and my sister, brother-in-law and niecies were in Cambridge for the day on Wednesday. We went punting and shopping and it was so good to share hugs and laughter. And my darling Graham's been as amazing as ever.

What's in a name? (or Square Old American Traditional Granny?)

Last Sunday Graham spotted a request in "Pews News" (newsheet of our local parish church) from a (temporarily) housebound lady asking for crochet lessons, with the fee going to Action Abroad (a charity which sponsors children in Africa and India). Now, as I can crochet and Graham is on the fundraising committee of Action Abroad, I could see where this was leading.

I 'phoned the lady in question and discovered that she was hoping to complete a pram blanket started by her grandmother 15 years ago. I was told that the pattern was "American Squares". I've never heard of American Squares but went along to her house yesterday armed with books and hooks galore.

It turns out that she had the book granny had worked from, and there was the pattern for what looked, to me, like a normal granny square but was called, in her book, "Old America". We set to work. Soon my student was chaining and trebling like an old hand. But when we hit round 2 in the instructions "3 treble, 3 chain" and I had to explain that "the first 3 treble is actually 3 chain and 2 treble like it said on the last round" I decided it was time to turn to Jan Eaton. Jan Eaton's "200 Crochet Blocks" is the book that finally got me crocheting. I'd struggled, on and off, for years trying to master the art but wass thrown by the fact that so much prior knowledge is assumed in crochet patterns. Jan's books don't just tell you what to do but why you're doing it. The "Old America" square we were battling with is a "Traditonal Granny" in 200 Crochet Blocks. And each round begins "chain 3, counts as first stitch". It even explains when you are making the corners.

The "Old America" instructions stopped at round 4, but granny had made her squares with 5 rounds. Once my pupil realised how the corners were made, she worked out the missing fifth round for herself.

The moral of this story is no matter what the motif is called, if you need a clear explanation head for one of Jan Eaton's tomes!

a spooky coincidence

I accidentally impaled myself at work today. When Graham dropped in to see me at lunchtime, he spotted the plaster on my left palm and--holding his own, plastered, left palm aloft--asked how I'd acquired my wound. Blushing, I explained that I'd impaled myself on one of my dpns, whilst trying to access the shop's dustpan and brush. "Oh but that's incredible" he replied (totally throwing me, I was expecting either "that serves you right" or some sympathy) and then he continued "I impaled myself on on of your needles, too" (he's been doing a lot of rearranging of furniture and belongings, following recarpeting in our bedroom). It turns at that the accidents happened at about the same time!

So now we're palm mates as well as soul mates (groan!)

Fresh from my cauldron

Oh Liz, what have you started? Now, thanks to you (and a few dyes from Art Van Go), I can wave a magic wand and turn anaemic stash yarns into glowing jewels!

A(nother) GRAND DAY OUT

Goodness, I'm growing to love Saturdays. Today was probably the best yet. Today had almost all my favourite things in it: a picnic, a ramble, Graham, friends, yarn, colour (lots of colour), cake...

Shortly before midday, Graham and I caught a bus to Chesterton, then strolled down to the river Cam. We picnicked on a bench near the Penny Ferry Inn then set out along the riverside path to Waterbeach. The first stretch of the walk is busy; lots of walkers/joggers/cyclists on the path and several rowing eights being coached on the river. But once past Baits Bite Lock (how I love that name) the path is narrower and both river and riverside traffic tend to be lighter. From this point on we had some amazing wildlife sightings: shrews in search of insects, Great Crested Grebe, Herons, dragonflies... Bliss. We left the river near Waterbeach station and then headed off to the village green where (following a swift drink in a pub) we parted company: Graham headed home, whilst I went to a wonderful dyeing workshop in Liz 's kitchen.

This was the best fun I've had in ages. Along with other KTog members, I got to dab bright colours onto a skein of bluefaced leicesterr sock yarn and to sample one of the best cakes I've ever eaten (special thanks to blogless Carole). I'm told that Anne's gluten-free muffins were great too, but I'm trying to eat less now that I have a lazier lifestyle!

It was so exciting when our yarns emerged from the clingfilm cocoons in which we'd steamed them. There were rainbows (both muted and vivd), peacock colours, sophisticated blends of blue, purple and grey and one laceweight, in particular, was just just downright dazzling (step forward Jayne).
As if all this hadn't been enough, Liz then directed us along to a local potter who had her studio open. I fell in love with an oakleaf bowl and spoon, and with some of her plates. But, alas, I had a train to catch!

Now I'm eagerly waiting for my skein of yarn to dry and looking forward to a few days at work, followed by a K Tog on Tuesday night, a day on an intermediate crochet course at our local John Lewis store on Wednesday and then, I hope, visits to more open studios next weekend.

THE FLYING AUNTIE RIDES AGAIN

(excuse the capitals, but for reasons known only to Blogger, I can no longer access the subject line of posts!)

Now, on to "The Flying Auntie" aka me. Time was when I lived far closer to my sister and (being naught but a Master's student with a terribly part-time job) I could visit her at the drop of a hat. That's when I became The Flying Auntie, there to nurse small chicken-pox-stricken niecelets, to attend sports days and carol services and many other delights. And now, The Flying Auntie is back. This week I "flew" (that's "flying" as in taking assorted buses and coaches!) to a musical evening and a teddy bears' picnic at the village school my younger niece attends. The musical evening was fun (the novice violinists did rather stretch the definition of "musical" but my niece's oboe solo was great) but my sister banned me from taking my crochet. Niecelet, however, positively encouraged me to take the crochet (as well as Lynda, my 46-year old teddy!) to the picnic. As I hoped, younger niece was very intrigued by the crochet and particularly likes the look of the granny square diagrams in the booklet I bought last weekend...I feel some teaching coming on, and have been asked to come back soon.

the great Norfolk yarn crawl

This is all Graham's fault. He tried to convince me that today would be too wet for the seaside, so I decided that I'd spend most of today in Norwich and then just take a train to Sheringham without alighting, so that I could get a glimpse of the sea, and maybe even a sniff of the sea but no more. (Believe me, though, if you grew up near the coast you can get serious withdrawal symptoms). Well, as you may have gathered from the previous post, I spent rather longer in Sheringham, after all as I had all but bankrupted myself in Norwich. For Norwich is, gentle reader, the home of Norfolk Yarns, stockists of Noro, Kaalund and other great temptations. It is but a brief bus ride from the City centre. It is all too easy to spend lots of time and even more money. In fact, to guard against temptation I rembered some advice I read in a diet book many, many moons ago. To whit: if you keep your house well stocked with biscuits, you won't crave them. So when I left the house this morning I made sure that I had a knitting project, a crochet project and spare yarn and needles/hooks for sudden creative impulses. So I wouldn't need to buy anything.

So much for the theory. I think today's stash enhancement has outstripped even the dizzy heights I reached at SkipNorth last year. I have silk, I have alpaca, I have merino. I have handpaint, I have tweed. I have addi bamboo circulars. I have a new book of crochet instructions which includes diagrams for left-handers, as well as right (I have a decidedly left-handed niece coming to stay and want to get her hooked). And I still crave biscuits, but that's another story.

Somehow I tore myself away. Only then I ended up at stall 144 on Norwich market. Guess what? 200gms of James Brett marble chunky (in lime and lilac) for £2.95. And other, more expensive things.

Clearly, it was time to head for the beach and hope that the sea air would blast this yarn lust away. But still there was time to while away before heading to the station. Surely Waterstones would be safe? How was I to know that they had Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits. (None of the bookshops in Cambridge does). Now normally I'd be concerned about sneaking so much conspicuous consumption past Graham. But he's at a college commemoration feast tonight (class of '67).

One scenic hour later (with much crocheting accomplished) I arrived in the (supposed) safety of Sheringham. Alas, I had forgotten that the only way from the station to the seafront goes past Creative Crafts. And they stock Bryspun ivore needles. (And also, alas, the most irresistible Regia yarn in firey reds with glimmers of green and flashes of yellow). (oh, and cute "knitting bee" kits consisting of yellow pompon makers and French knitting dollies striped yellow and black; and--oh, look!--a flower loom. I used to have fun of those when I was a teenager and my teenagedniece is coming to stay, as well as the lefthanded niece).

Help, quick, to the seafront. Sanity restored, I had to head home but not without stopping for fishcake and chips. And a glance in the remaindered book shop (how was I to know that they'd have a bargain Harmony Guide to Crochet?). and the chips left me thirsty so I had to go to the newsagent to get a bottle of water. Was it my fault they had the lastest issue of Crochet today?

(ggrrrr, blogger appears to have eaten up the links I've added, each time I've saved the draft.)

Sheringham seascape (purple prose alert)

Even before I reached the seafront I could tell it was high tide; the sea makes an altogether more percussive sound when the water is swirling over pebbles rather than sand. But there is nothing stacatto about its rhythm, rather there is a swirling chatter.

This was the North Sea in true English summer mode...mainly shades of brown, grey, muddy green and (eventually, at the horizon)indigo. As the waves retreated they left white foam but the breakers rushing in were tipped with shades of coffee and oyster.

The waves left an undulating pattern on the pebbles, think of the curve at the top of a lolly stick alternating with a truncated, straight edge. And as the waves drew back they left cockle shell patterns, veined with ecru foam, in the curved sections. That was the view from above. Later, (quite a bit later, the sound is so hypnotic) strolling a few yards away and looking on sideways it became clear that the "lolly sticks" were actually gullies which the waves had cut through the pebbles.

you realise just how wet it is when...

...you arrive home to find a frog on your doorstep, sheltering from the rain!

laughing in the museum

This week has been (almost) busy. Heavy rain on Monday turned our back garden into a lake (to the utter bewilderment of our cat) and our the contents of garage (which, being a zero car family, we use for storage)had to be hastily re-arranged as water started to flow in... but we got off very lightly compared to many in the midlands and the north. Tuesday night was KTog night. Wednesday (usually a day off) saw me at work for the stocktake, although I did escape for an hour to have lunch with my parents who were in Cambridge for the day. There was more stocktaking on Thursday afternoon (I was spared in the morning so that I could do my turn on the Cambridge Country Market--the organisation formerly known as the Cambridge WI Market-- stall and was delighted to do a roaring trade in my crocheted broochers and corsages).

I had planned to head off to the coast today (to Sheringham and Cromer, about 3 hours away by train) but overslept rather drastically. Tried to do some knitting but it kept going wrong. Well, I suppose to be fair it was me who kept going wrong, not the knitting, but I got really rather fed up with the yarn and needles and so hopped on a bus into town with no plans whatsoever at all. Somehow, I ended up here,where I had a wonderful time just using the "follow your nose wherever it goes" principle. And after some old favourites (cermaic, Italian religious paintings) I ended up in a gallery full of Howard Hodgkin's most recent paintings. And, forgetting all museum-goer's etiquette, I burst out laughing. For Hodgkin's later paintings are broad strokes of vivid colour, textural paint extending onto the frames. Whilst they look quick and spontaneous I noticed that several had dates like "1999-2003". Hmm, is all that texture to do with painting over previous compostions? One picture, in particular, has lots of horizontal bands of colour but then, about a third of the way in from the right, there is an angry vertical band of dark grey. Happily the only other person in the gallery was an attendant and she shared my amusement. Like me, she loved the colours but wasn't sure that she exactly "got" the paintings. But she drew my attention to the wonderful titles. I particularly liked "Old Books". Once I'd seen the title what had previously been just a load of horizontal brush strokes (the rather scratchy ones you get when your brush isn't terrribly well loaded with paint and the bristles are in annoying clumps) really did look like a stack of books.

After that I found a room with a selection of 22 satirical engravings, showing the way the English and French stereotyped each other in (more or less) the 18th century. So: starving Frenchmen roasting frogs on spits outside a pub called "The Roayl Clog" (apparently all French peasants wore clogs) and English ladies in poke bonnets looking most frumpy compared to the elegant French. One English soldier was depicted with a barrel of beer round his neck, possibly the earliest depiction of a British lager lout?

I think I'll have to go back and take another look! Am now planning to head off to the coast tomorrow, though I fear rain may stop play...

I could get used to this...

Sorry about recent silence, having problems with boradband, mainly involving the 15m extension cable between our 'phone socket and this computer...

However, I've been busy getting the hang of working part-time. Lots of outings, lots of crochet, lots of reading (have found "How to Be Free" and "how to be Idle" by Tom Hodginkson particularly useful!) and lots of playing with the camera.

Highlights have been the Cambridge Knitting Group joining Bury St Edmunds Stitch'n'Bitch for a picnic in The abbey Gardens, Bury St E on worldwide knitting in public day and spending this morning processing through Ely to celebrate St Etheldreda's Day. Every so often the procession halted for delightful music (hymns, Mendhelsson, medieval tunes, Andrew LLoyd Webber)and dramatised scenes from St Etheldreda's life. When we reached St E's shrine a very touching death scene was followed by a rousing rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In". After that, Graham took communion and I went and sat crocheting near the Cathedral entrance.

Bus tickets, Saturday

Just a thought: if you're using stagecoach buses for your journey on Saturday, ask for a "dayrider plus" on the first bus you get on, as it will cover your local journeys, as well as Cambridge-Bury St Edmunds.

Bury St Edmunds knitting picnic (more details)

I'm getting *very* excited about this! It is open to anyone who'd like to come along and knit (suspect I'm going to be taking some crochet, actually) and is taking place at the Abbey Gardens from noon-2pm on Sat 9 June. The place to be is "just inside the main gate, to the right", but I imagine all you need do is listen out for the laughter (if KTogs are anything to go by...).

I'm going to go even if it is pouring with rain, in which case maybe we could meet at the appointed place and then find pubs/cafes to invade.

Meantime, I enjoyed the first day in my new job but am going to have to unlearn lots of procedures. Today was a day off, though. I quickly got the hang of that! I'd been promising myself a trip to Ely since I last went 2 years ago. It is littered with benches in picturesque settings, so there was a great deal of sitting and reading (current reading material "How to Be Free" by the editor of the Idler), a long spell in Ely Cathedral (my favourite part is the newest, the passageway to the Lady Chapel), and rather more retail therapy than is wise on a part-timer's budget. In the cathedral giftshop I found a marvellous little volume on geometry in churches, just crying out to be used in conjunction with Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer's work over at Woolly Thoughts (sorry, no links this evening as 'phone line is in a very bad mood, and internet connection lasts only seconds). In Toppings Bookshop (which has, incidentally, a better poetry and lit crit section than any shop in Cambridge) I finally found a copy of a weighty tome on Shops and shopping in Engalnd (an architectural study by an employee of English Heritage, that I've been looking out for for some 3 years). And the Ely City Cycle Centre (which does quadruple duty as a purveyor of toys, models and craft equipment, as well as bikes) had some rather tempting hemp yarn (for crochet and macrame) in yummy colours at £1.10 for 71m... All this on a day when a book that I'd totally forgotten that I'd pre-ordered (Nicky Epstein's latest: the lamely titled Knit Never Felt Better) arrived. It has some great ideas but I feel that it has too many illustrations and-- what a con-- many pictures of items using felted knitting have captions saying "Vogue pattern XZZZX". Still, I can see I'm going to have lots of fun with the Shibori section. Husband was heard to mutter, "at last, a use for Rosie's marble collection". Hmm, I get the feeling that he's tired of dusting it (I do keep it in a jar, rather than having them arranged on a tray).

newsflash!

Sorry about the silence of late, but read on and all will become clear.

Today was my last day in my current job and I start a new (part-time) post on Monday. Much as I loved my previous job, the wretched twisty stairs and box-lugging were playing havoc with my knees and ankles and some of the work I'd really enjoyed was no longer needed (thus increasing the proportion of box shifting!). Frustratingly, I leave my previous employer just at the point when I think business is going to soar, but I value my legs and sleep too much to rue this day.

Now I'm planning to catch up with my (neglected) family and friends and go places and do things (will just have to watch new, reduced, income..) And I can get this blog up-to-date with tales of South Africa, patchwork knitting in Marlow, a new technique from Horst Schulz, and the chance to join with the Bury St Edmunds Stitch'n'Bitch on worldwide knitting in public day on 9 June.

Watch this space (if I've any readers leaft after such a long pause...)

a hitherto unexpected talent

we interrrupt details of caught knitting's South African oddysey to bring you rather astonishing news...I appear to have found a sport at which I ain't half bad, the first time this has happened since I won form 2G's 220 yards heats in 1974...

had to go to an area meeting today and it concluded with tenpin bowling. am still feeling lousy, so almost said "no", but have always had a secret hankering to try. Got a strike on my third go, followed by either a 9 or a strike on all except one subsequent go (a miserable 8, followed by 1, so it still added up to 9). I was only bowling at about 5-6mph but just got the knack of bowling straight down the middle!

OK; I'm going to stick my trumpet back in its box now and snatch an early night!

Durban Days

Well, whilst the Von Trapp family might advocate that you "start at the very beginning, the very best place to begin" I've decided to bypass details of our outward journey* and leap straight in to our first few days in South Africa, which we spent in Graham's birthplace: Durban, a coastal city in KwaZulu Natal.

Since I have never managed to master getting multiple photos to appear at the right point in any post I've decided to do lots of tiny weeny posts, with just a pic or 2 each. This probably means that the posts themselves will be in a rather strange order (germ-fuddled brain too dozy to try to think this through) but at least relevant pictures should be with relevant text!

Just to set the scene: most of our time in Durban consisted of socialising and visiting such important sites as "the house where we used to live", "another house where we used to live", "where I went to school", "another school I went to", "where my mother went to school". I do not, alas have a photographic record of either the socialising or the landmarks. But what I have captured are images of a wonderful "wildside of Durban" tour put together by Graham's friend Dave and lots of flora and fauna images from Durban Botanical Gardens and Mitchell Park. the picture with this post is of one of the many trees I fell in love with in the Botanical Gardens. I also fell in love with the crumpets (NB for non-South African readers, "crumpets" are not those lovely doughy things riddled with holes for soaking up maximum quantities of butter, no, South African crumpets are what my mother would call a "scotch pancake" and I would call a "drop scone". Follow this link if you want to read more about this muddled nomenclature. No matter what they're called, in the Botanical Gardens they are served warm, with maple syrup and cream. And you get 2 on a plate!)

If I were to try and encapsulate my memories of Durban in just a few words I'd say "humidity, birdsong, monkeys and fruit bat". Every evening as we dined with Denzil and Bobby we could see a fruit bat swooping around outside!

*fear not, gentle reader, you will get to read about the air traffic control strike at Paris Charles de Gaulle, but probably not for another couple of days...

ho(a)rse flu?

Thanks for all your get well messages. Anne, does cider count as "lots of fluids"? (NB this is just wishful thinking on my part, current drug of choice is lemsip max).

Twice this morning (before voice totally vanished and I was forced to return home) I had people say "ooh, a spring cold, they're nasty they are, hard to get rid of". First time I just fumed silently but the second time I had a bright thought: "I imported these germs from South Africa, so it is an Autumn cold, not a Spring one!". Ha! But then my very dear colleague said "you haven't got South African horse 'flu have you? Mum was just telling me that there's a big outbreak of horse 'flu and its like bird 'flu." Am happy to relate that whilst I may be decidedly hoarse I didn't have anything to do with horses whilst away. I did get quite close to same tame zebras, though... (Perhaps I should also point out that I'm not aware of horse 'flu being transmitted to humans, although mosquitoes are the vector and I have some rather dazzling bites!)

More bizarrely still, twice within the last 24 hours I've had people telling me how pretty I look! This is unheard of. Clearly the lank, greasy hair/no make-up/red rimmed eyes and slightly fevered flush look is coming back into fashion. (Don't think anyone of my build could be called consumptive, but do feel that there's an echo of Victorian novels here). Or maybe it is because the last 3 weeks (holiday and bug) have forced me to rest?

Now I'm off to cough...
(ps post edited to add pic of tame zebras!)

suspended animation

Grr, have been felled by germs. Had to give up on work yesterday afternoon and have just escaped from bed for first time in 24 hours. It must be about 3 years since I last felt as grotty as this...

Will aim to upload pix on Tuesday now. Meantime Laura (Graham's daughter) has been working away on this computer all day as her laptop has died. She's planning to buy a reconditioned one tomorrow.

the travel socks are off...

Feeling more than a little tired after a 23+ hours in transit but just wanted to report that I'm back in the UK after 2 weeks meeting Graham's family and friends in South Africa. Amazing hospitality from so many people (we stayed with Denzil, Bobby, Jenny, Colin and Mary and enjoyed a memorable meal and drinking/old photograph viewing session with Aunt Earna). Spectacular scenery and wildlife (am intending to upload inadequate pix and info on Sunday). But most of all I want to thank Graham for tipping his friends off about my passions: crafts and wildlife. As a result of this David took us on a whirlwind tour of Durban's nature reserves with lunch at a craft gallery thrown in; Kay drove us through the Valley of 1000 hills and took me to the yarn shop in Hillcrest (have some lovely new yarn to report); Bill and Mary took us to Umgeni Valley (zebra, hartebeest, blasbok), and St John (who shared our trip to the Drakensberg mountains) made sure that we took in some fabulous shops/workshops on the way there and back (beads, embroidery). alert readers will notice that one of my top interests is missing; South African cider is, alas, underwhelming with only 2 brands widely available. Their flavour seemed to have more in common with lager than apples. So I enjoyed gin & tonic in the mountains!

Pics, links and info should start to appear here from Sunday onwards...

still here!

Sorry about silence on the blog front of late... am back on dial-up (so please excuse lack of links and pix) whilst trying to sort out some broadband "issues". Moreover I've been battling killer toothache and neck problems.

But I've been enjoying lots of good things, too: a favourite colour secret pal swap, SkipNorth (the infamous "knitting and shopping" retreat in Yorkshire) and several bottles of Old Rosie Scrumpy (courtesy of WyeSue my scrumpy enabler!)

The favourtie colour swap was huge fun. I was being spoiled by Holly in Auburn, who sent me the most gorgeous blue heron "railtrack" yarn in dark reds with highlights of grey/blue/purple plus patterns and --best of all-- a brooch knitted in mohair with tiny miniature knitting needles. But I was spoling someone far closer to home: Marianne lives in Cambridgeshire and I had a wonderful time finding treats for her. Better still, as well as a beautiful thank you card, she dropped in to see me on Saturday. What a fabulous surprise.

And as for SkipNorth...Woohoo. It was wonderful.. I set off with a very strict yarn budget and came home with 57p change fro, it. But most esciting of all, I now have a wonderful array of colourful crochet hooks which I discovered at Lee MIll (near Holmfirth) HQ of the Knitting & Crochet guild. Am itching to use these (and my lovely new yarns) but have realised that I need to knit up some sample garments for the patchwork knitting course I'm teaching for Crafty Events (in marlow, second w/end of May). So glad that I've only promised baby/child size ones.

Ouch! This is clearly enough typing for tonight. Hope to have Broadband re-established soon and will then be able to show pix of colourswap goodies, SkipNorth haul etc.

odi et amo

Well, when there's nothing interesting to blog about there's always poetry. Here is the extraordinary piece by Catullus known as "poem 85":

odi et amo. quare id faciam fortasse requiris.
nescio, sed fieri sentio, et excrucior.

"I love and I hate. How can that be, perhaps you ask. I do not know, but I feel it happening and I am in torment". At least, I think that's how it translates.

This poem really sums up how I feel at the moment, but not because of any romantic problems!

Never mind, at least I've been having fun hooking (a curly whirly in acid green, cyclamen and a riotuous multi-colour from 21st century yarns), there's a KTog tomorrow night and SkipNorth is less than a fortnight away. And, in a bid to unwind, I'm making a point of changing out of my suit as soon as I get home each night.

chop, chop...

Anyone remember that advert from the early 80s (might have been for British Telecom) that featured loads of paneguins and the following mantra repeated over and again:

chop chop busy busy work work bang bang, chop chop busy busy work work bang bang, chop chop busy busy work work bang bang...

Life's been feeling rather like that recently I'm afraid,and I don't suppose thta it would be of remote interest to anyone else, hence the lack of posts.

But things are looking up. There was a great KTog last Tuesday and on Sunday I went to Textiles in Focus, to take a turn on Liz's stall and to indulge in retail therapy with Gill (That naughty Silkwood sock yarn in Spangles told me that I needed it. Who was I to disagree?). And I've a day off today, most of which has been spent alternating between snoozing and knitting. And my lovely neighbour Rosie Jennings (reflexologist extraordinaire) celebrated her birthday yesterday, so we're off to our local for a celebration this evening.

Oh, and soon it will be SkipNorth: yay!

Secret Pals revealed

SP 10 has finished (well, officially at any rate, but a parcel I sent in early Jnauary still hasn't made it to the States). I've had tremendous fun spoiling Tracey and I've been well and truly spoiled by Shelly. Thanks to both of you!

Otherwise I've been working, working, sleeping, working ... so I can't wait for Tuesday's Ktog: Granta Bar, University Centre, Granta Place, off Mill Lane, 7-9pm

the joys of missing the bus...

Yay! Back again after some sort of blip in Tiscali's service. Have been itching to blog since Wednesday morning, when I missed the 7.40am bus (this is unheard of for me, but my sleep had been mightily disturbed by unearthly noises!). Even though (oh, the horror) my watch read 7.38 as I flew the house, I *convinced* myself I'd make it. (After all, the thing is rarely on time).

The stop was suspciously devoid of people when I got there, so I decided to read. But, as I pulled my novel from my bag, I was aware of swift movement in the field opposite. Two animals, long, low-down in the grass, rusty pelts, dark tips to their tails; chasing each other round and round and round. Yes, the night-time catawaulers: a pair of foxes a-courting. One soon loped off, but the other remained, obscured by a stand of tall grass (hope it wasn't dining on the resident barn owl!). When I got on the 8 o'clock bus I saw friends I'd not seem for ages (bonus!) and they soon spotted the fox, too.

NB. Eagle-eyed readers will note that there has been sweet FA in the way of knitting/crochet content of late. This, alas, reflects a dose of RSI caused by peeling price stickers off and the wretched post-viral Blahs. Boo!

crafty special/catch them young

here's a comment that's been left for me, and which needs to be spread far and wide.

"Thought you might like to know that The Guardian are doing a one off craft guide this Saturday Feb 3rd which includes features on (amongst other crafty stuff) knitting fever, best knitting on the web, how to knit basics, knitty gritty & tips for the needle novice. Well worth a look. Please pass it on! "

Now: how's this for a case of "catch' em young"? I've been a Guardian reader since before I could read; back in the early 60s my daddy used to sit me on his knee when he got home from work and read the leader column to me! Entertainingly, he didn't read the Guardian out of political conviction (he voted Tory in those days but later joined the SDP and is now a Lib Dem). No, it was because when he went up to Oxford he discovered that the Guardian was available at a special cheap rate for students. So, thanks to a special offer c1942 I'm reading the Guardian in 2007.

the joys of dusk

I love the liminal times of day: dawn and dusk, when the subtle tipping from darkness to light (or vice versa) occurs, often with colourful skies and the sound of birdsong. (I felt really thrown when I visited the Seychelles and night came down like a theatre curtain).

A day off work is a real treat for me at the moment, as it means that I get to enjoy the dusk. Today I've watched it from inside the house, as I was VERY GLAD to be inside after having locked myself out (the neighbour who has a spare key wasn't there, so I sat shivering on the door step for some time, then invited myself round to another neighbour, who cheered me up with camomile tea, and a spare key for the neighbour who has out key result!). Hooray for wonderful neighbours.

But last Tuesday, whilst en route to the KTog, I was at the local bus stop. The sky was glowing (that inimitable winter combination of grey with apricot pink highlights) and two swans flew over. It was magical. Fortunately the lengthening days mean that I'm now heading off to work at dawn, rather than in total darkness.

a glimpse into the future...

my sister overheard my nieces (aged 10 and 13) talking today. they were discussing a great aunt, who talks and talks to them about people whom they've never met and are never likely to. they get rather bored. then they fell to wondering what their children would think of me when I'm a great aunt. apparently, I'll be sitting in a rocking chair, knitting away furiously and not talking endlessly about dull things. sounds good to me!

flat

my get up and go has got up and gone (think it is a case of post viral fatigue syndrome, boo). happily, there's a KTog to look forward to on Tuesday evening (see the Knit Cambridge blog for details)

memories of the (faux) millennium

Happy New Year (yes, I'm about 5 hours early, but I plan to sleep the New year in, as I'll be at work tomorrow!)

Graham and I saw 2000 in at my shoe-box of a flat in Bar Hill (just outside Cambridge. New Year's Eve isn't the easiest of times for Graham, as Nola (Laura's mother) died on 1 January (about 14 years ago, now). Also, being the pedants that we are, we insist that the 21st-century started on 1 January 2001. And then I found a wonderful book: Time's Tidings, edited by Carol Ann Duffy. This is Duffy's selection of 50 contemporary poems, 25 by men, 25 by women, which touch on the subject of time; and it also contains one "old" poem selected by each of the selected contemporary poets.

I bought it so that Graham and I could while the evening away reading poetry to each other. And through it I discovered the work of Gillian Clarke, who is now my favourite poet. If you know my love of sea creatures (whether real, or crocheted), and fossils, and sculpture and hares, you'll understand why this poem spoke to me:

For Meic Watts, who sculpted the limestone hare.

The Stone Hare
Think of it waiting three hundred million years,
not a hare hiding in the last stand of wheat,
but a premonition of stone, a moonlit reef
where corals reach for the light through clear waters of warm Palaeozoic seas.
In its limbs lies the story of the earth,
the living ocean, then the slow birth
of limestone from the long trajectories
of starfish, feather stars, crinoids and crushed shells
that fill with calcite, harden, wait for the quarryman,
the timed explosion and the sculptor's hand.
Then the hare, its eye a planet, springs from the chisel
to stand in the grass, moonlight's muscle and bone,
the stems of sea lilies slowly turned to stone.

(I've lifted the poem from here)

I'll just add that after a peaceful evening reading poetry, and detonating a tiny bottle of champagne, we slept, then awoke to the most glorious January day: clear, not a cloud in the sky. We set out along the footpath to Dry Drayton churchyard,(where Graham spent a few quiet minutes remembering Nola), then walked on to Madingley. It was so warm that we had to peel our coats off, and we laughed to think of the many poor souls who were probably still sound asleep. the only other person we saw was a cyclist, and the only sound was a woodpecker drumming on the trunk of a tree in the grounds of Madingley Hall. As we returned to Dry Drayton the bell ringers were playing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", so we were lured in to the Millennium service there. And on the way out I was embraced by the vicar!

And now: felting news! The "sack" shrank rather more than I expected but it is beautiful. Whilst I never make New year's resolutions, I do write lists of things I'd like to achieve in the coming year. Since about 1998 I've been writing "learn to crochet". In 2005 I finally picked up that art of granny squares (thanks to Jan Eaton's wonderful book on crochet blocks) and 2006 is the year that I've really gained confidence. Hmm, what shall I aim for in 2007?

Once again: Happy New year!

festive interlude

Well, there's nothing like working in a gift shop for making the festive season seem simultaneously never-ending (Christmas merchandise arrives in later summer) and over in the blink of an eye.

But what a wonderful day we had on 25 December! Blogger appears to be eating my pictures again (boo, third day in a row)so I'll have to paint with words. Christmas Eve found our tree looking more picturesque than ever, as Laura wraps all our parcels using scraps of silk and organza and ties them with ribbons and braids. And Graham and I had wrapped all our gifts in one of those wonderful packs of tissue paper that contains several shades of every colour under the rainbow. We were all thoroughly spolit by each other and by our family and friends. I don't think I've had this much fun unwrapping pressies since I was about 6! Highlights for me were some sumptuous yarn hand-dyed by Liz, a wonderful parcel of all sorts of knitterly goodies from my secret pal (I really must persevere with getting the photos to upload) and lots of crochet-inspired items (book, hooks, calendar) from Graham and Laura. Graham also got me England in Particular, and those who know me well won't be surprised to hear that opening the book for the very first time, completely at random, there was the entry on cider!

And speaking of cider, we come to the crowning glories, the wonderful feast that Laura cooked (featuring onion and champagne soup, followed by a pie of vegetables braised in a cider and cream sauce) and the present that was so exciting that we saved it until after lunch, just so that we could keep looking at it. To explain. A very large, brown box turned up at our house on 22 December. On 23 December my sister, brother-in-law and nieces arrived and (hidden away in the spare room) proceeded to remove something from the box, fill it with lots of mystery parcels, then seal it back into the box. Thus on 25 December we opened the box, to find a bright green wicker picnic hamper filled to overflowing with brightly-coloured parcels and topped off with one of those Alan Dart knitted gnomes, clucthing a home-made cracker. My younger niece, who knows how much I love knitted toys, and how little I love knitting them myself, purchased the gnome at her school bazaar)! When we finally opened the parcels we found wines (which were not only South African and Fairtrade, but organic, too), cider (which hasn't lasted long), Green & Blacks chocolate, very special grissini, home-made chutney, locally-gathered walnuts and a Lindt chocolate reindeer (I swear that this is a Lindt chocolate bunny in drag!).

What a rambling entry this is! But I'm trying to take my mind off the fact that I have an (almost) FO felting away in the washing machine at the moment. And not just any FO, oh no. For the first time in my life I have followed a crochet pattern. And so, tumbling and turning and spinning in the hotpoint we have a "deliberate shrinkage sack" from Not Your Mama's Crochet (one of my pressies from Graham) made from Kureyon using one of the Brittany crochet hooks G gave me. I didn't quite get gauge and I managed to seam one side right sides together and the other wrong sides (that's a design feature, ahem) but so far, so good. Right time to be brave: off to the machine to see if I still have a "sack" or just a mess of felted yarn!

Deep breaths...

uncannily accurate

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Book Snob
Literate Good Citizen
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Cripes! How did they suss the PhD bit out? (Not that I've any intnetion of ever finishing the wretched thing). Thanks to Lyndsey-Jane for her link to this quiz.

wonders of winter

The sky took my breath away this morning: inky indigo shot through with reds and pinks. I vowed that when I got to the bus stop I'd stand with my back to the road, soaking up the beauty of the sky. Only then I turned and got fixated on the crescent moon, then finally I glanced across the road to the field opposite (a rather tatty bit of fallow ground) and blinked in disbelief. There was a barn owl flying low, quartering the field in search of delicacies (aka rodents). The wide expanse of sand-coloured wings and round white face were unmistakable. Got a full 5 minutes of watching in before the bus arrived. What a start to the day!

The journey home was fun, too, as not only was a friend from the village on the bus, but I also got to wave at Liz (take a look at her Molly Dancing Angel!), who was waiting for her bus home.

I'm still excited about the owl. I've heard them nearby recently but didn't expect to see one. (Having said that, I finally saw a green woodpecker on our driveway a fortnight ago, and had been hearing that ever since we moved in 4 years ago!)

Meantime, am being seriously confused by blogger, which keeps urging me to migrate to some new version, but then insists that I can't because my blog is too big...am baffled.

St Lucy's Day

Today is St Lucy's Day, giving me the excuse to post one of my very favourite poems: John Donne's Nocturnall Upon St Lucie's Day, composed before 1582 (and the Julian calendar reform) when 13 December was the longest day. It is a mourning poem, at once depressing yet beautiful. (Mind you, what first made me fall in love with St Lucy's Day was watching Blue Peter back in the 60s, when they showed footage of little Scandinavian girls celebrating St Lucy's Day as a festival of light, wearing crowns of greenery and candles, and it looks as if alan Dart, who designs knitted toys, was impressed, too, see his pattern for the latest edition of Simply Knitting!)

A NOCTURNALL UPON ST. LUCIE'S DAY,
BEING THE SHORTEST DAY.
by John Donne

'TIS the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucie's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks ;
The sun is spent, and now his flasks
Send forth light squibs, no constant rays ;
The world's whole sap is sunk ;
The general balm th' hydroptic earth hath drunk,
Whither, as to the bed's-feet, life is shrunk,
Dead and interr'd ; yet all these seem to laugh,
Compared with me, who am their epitaph.

Study me then, you who shall lovers be
At the next world, that is, at the next spring ;
For I am every dead thing,
In whom Love wrought new alchemy.
For his art did express
A quintessence even from nothingness,
From dull privations, and lean emptiness ;
He ruin'd me, and I am re-begot
Of absence, darkness, death - things which are not.

All others, from all things, draw all that's good,
Life, soul, form, spirit, whence they being have ;
I, by Love's limbec, am the grave
Of all, that's nothing. Oft a flood
Have we two wept, and so
Drown'd the whole world, us two ; oft did we grow,
To be two chaoses, when we did show
Care to aught else ; and often absences
Withdrew our souls, and made us carcasses.

But I am by her death-which word wrongs her-
Of the first nothing the elixir grown ;
Were I a man, that I were one
I needs must know ; I should prefer,
If I were any beast,
Some ends, some means ; yea plants, yea stones detest,
And love ; all, all some properties invest.
If I an ordinary nothing were,
As shadow, a light, and body must be here.

But I am none ; nor will my sun renew.
You lovers, for whose sake the lesser sun
At this time to the Goat is run
To fetch new lust, and give it you,
Enjoy your summer all,
Since she enjoys her long night's festival.
Let me prepare towards her, and let me call
This hour her vigil, and her eve, since this
Both the year's and the day's deep midnight is.

Meanwhile, today is late night shopping night at work, so even though St Lucy's Day is no longer the solstice, and therefore the longest day of the year, it might just feel like it for me! At least I'm not working all day. Hope to finish my crocheted scarf for Ma and to get knitting a scarf for Dad (I've some Noro Silk Garden in surprisingly restrained shades of brown and grey which will be perfect).

oh wow

For all my obsession with sea creatures (real and crocheted) and slug genitalia, I've never really stopped to think about sea slugs, but now this pattern in the new Knitty has given me a new passion (like I've got time for passion!).

hooked

Before getting onto the main subject of this post,please, is there anyone out there who can tell me what possessed me to work in retail? Remind me that I *love* my job. Thank you! (Think the 60-hr weeks in the run-up to Giftmas are getting to me...)

Well, from crotchety to crochet. It is official, I'm addicted. Since E-J made me marvellous stitch markers (see my blog entry on 3 September!) which stop my work unravelling when in transit, I've discovered that it is easier to crochet on the bus each morning than it is to knit. Queue the maddest of curly whirly scarves, made using Rowan Tapestry (NB no rowan never did get back to me re the provenance of the soy content!) and my new Brittany crochet hook. Don't think I've had so much yarny fun for years. Edgar is no longer my true love! Even my lovely husband has been captivated by the shape of the scarf ("it looks like sea creatures") and he asked where I'd got the "magnificent" hook. As a result, this year's letter to Father Xmas (which resides on the fridge door), which initially said (unimaginatively) "Dear Santa, this year I'd like 36hrs/day" now has the following items added: Annie Modesitt's crochet pattern a day desk calendar, Not Your Mama's Crochet (Amy Swenson) and Brittany crochet hooks in an assortment of sizes. (er, does Father Xmas read blogs?)

Back to my hooking!

silliness

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Xmas shopping

ZZZZZZzzzzzz. Ooops, just dozed off at the keyboard again, sorry. Things are finally hotting up at the Wonderful World of Retail so, on my day off on Tuesday, I thought it was high time that I did my own Christmas shopping. Here's what I bought: a 5mm Britanny Crochet hook (for me), some yarn (for me), some tissue paper (to wrap gifts for my SP), a novel (for me), 3 candles (for a relative who may actually read this!, some tights (for me) and 2 cuddly monkeys (for me). Didn't I do well? Since then I've bought some really exciting stuff that I'm not going to blog about.

After my very self-indulgent shopping trip I headed off the Cambridge Blue for a KTog. I quickly decided to ease my conscience by getting to work on a curly whirly scarf using the hook and yarn I'd just purchased. So that's one Xmas gift well underway. I also decided that the monkeys just couldn't be left languishing in a plastic bag, so I hooked their paws together (they have velcro pads on their paws) and wore them slung arouhd my neck. Good job nobody had a camera... The monkeys are now happily swigning from the wardrobe door in our bedroom. I'll get some pictures within the next few days.

I'm off to grab some sleep now, ready for another dose of festive cheer tomorrow.

now that I've found my camera cable

At last I've managed to download, then upload some pictures. I've still not managed to control the order in which they appear on the page, but here's a selection of my favourites from the last few weeks:
*Josie and Vee, 2 of the participants on the patchwork knitting workshop I did last month. I had the loveliest thank you letter from Josie.
*a wonderful East Anglia sunset, captured from my doorstep a couple of weeks ago.
*astonishingly thoughtful (and tasty) SP9 goodies from "The Secret Socker"; I'm hoping to immerse myself (and that yarn, prewound to self-striping sock proportions)in the Kool Aid, probably on Boxing Day.

Sunday in Cambridge

One of the greatest joys of Cambridge life is the organic veg stall on the Sunday market. (The picture above was taken a fortnight ago, I was most amused to spot the wallflowers in amongst the veg). So how did I spend the morning whilst Graham went to a service at St Edwards (said to be the "cradle of the English Reformation")? I went to work! I've always scoffed at workaholics and suddenly... But I was eager to do some number crunching (nothing like numbers to soothe my soul). Will spare you the details though, as I'm sure nobody else will be interested.

After that, we lunched at Loch Fyne, one of my favourite places for people watching (and definately my favourite place for eating fish). From the corner of my eye today I spotted twins in highchairs (probably aged about 18 months)one moment they were tipping bits of jigsaw on the fllor, the next they were licking oyster shells. What sophisticated taste. Meanwhile, poor Graham blanched when he saw my squid, don't think he's ever seen it in anything but rings before.

Once home I blog hopped for a bit (and found that Wyesue had posted a picture especially for me: thanks Sue, I'll raise my glass to that!) then buried myself in Freakonomics, which is the most entertaining book I've read in a long while and very thought-provoking. If you share my fascination with numbers and cause and effect and haven't come across this book yet, go get it now. Match-fixing amongst Sumo wrestlers, Superman v. the Ku Klux Klan, and what (statistically) makes a perfect parent.

Now, though, I'm listening to a choir competition on Radio 3, and poised to complete EdgarII. Or so I thought. Graham has, alas, just asked me what we can make out of 6 mushrooms, half a cabbage, a slimey green pepper and one cherry tomato. How I rue going to work rather than food shopping!

First Santa Sighting of 2006

EEk! Dashing to the bus stations last night I was accosted by Father Xmas, outside Boots where he was handing out promotional material (how the mighty fall!). My ears were assailed by the sound of a jazz band across the road in Marks & Spencer. Yes, the Xmas late-night shopping season was being launched but there seemd to ba a decided dearth of late-night shoppers.

And if you see a madwoman bouncing around Cambridge on a space hopper tomorrow that'll be me (or one of my team...I'm rather good at delegation, tee hee) advertising extra special bargains on all our lines, even the space hoppers!

But for true eccentricity, take a look at this extraordinary pattern, which I found whilst bloghopping (as opposed to spacehopping) this evening!

Spending the night with Edgar

With both Graham and Laura away at parties in far flung places last night I have to confess to
*hitting the gin and tonic
*eating a ready meal from Sainsburys
*scoffing almost an entire packet of chocolate biscuits
and
*succumbing to the allure ofEdgar with Charles crooning romantically in the background!

BLISS (and just as well, too, as my day off today has just vanished with staff phoning in sick.) Hey ho, Edgar and I are now off to take the bus together!

things that make me go hmmm

the state of britain's railways; (I suppose that I have to heave a sigh and admit that re-nationalisation is unlikely, then gracefully agree with Ms Dunwoody's insistence that more operators need to be involved)
idiotic individuals stirring up intolerance...and note how the journalist sensationalizes things: making hyperbolic statements--"medieval witch hunts"-- and implying that lots of people were involved, rather than just a minority of the group.

I do seem in a grumpy mood tonight, don't I?!

I've actually had a brilliant day immersed in books( an old favourite, Paul Smith's you can find inspiration in everything and my latest favourite Re-imagine! by Tom Peters, although actually much of this book makes me furiously cross, so much so that I've scribbled on it in places, but there are some extraordinary ideas at work behind the giant ego!) and dreaming (retail) dreams (that's retail as in me doing the retail, rather than me indulging in retail therapy, which makes a change); dreams inspired by William Morris's dream of artifacts that bring "a happiness to the maker and the user".

Think I'd better soothe my aching brain (and cold hands) with more work on my scarf!

Birthday treats

another year older, and 3 days of partying draw to a close... on tuesday Liz and I enjoyed cocktails at the maypole (a singapore sling for me) then knitted at the mitre. yesterday evening, my colleagues interrupted our staff meeting to ply me with crisps and chocolate cake and present me with flowers. today I was overwhelmed with delightful presents and dined with graham and laura at cafe adriatic. (was also wined which is why i'm not venturing into the realms of using the shift key to create capital letters).

lots of thoughtful and indulgent pressies came my way, too. The main themes were yarn and food (how well people know me)..Pate de fruits, Noro Blossom and matching hand-dyed yarn from Liz (she did the dyeing herself and has come up with a perfect match for the Blossom)...an assortment of nuts, seeds, chocolate, biscuits and Rowan yarn (in my favourite shades of green) from Carole, Claire and Lil, all presented in a wicker basket...Graham and Laura have ordered me some of Opal's Hundertwasser yarns from Get Knitted, as well as supplying me with munchy seeds, a new wallet (bright pink) and a voucher for a massage. Goth niece and Miss Pegs have given me a stunning glass pendant.

How can anyone object to being a year older when surrounded by family and friends like this?

Pictures follow as soon as I can find which folder the computer has hidden them in...

Samhain

The year turns: I've always been thrilled by Hallowe'en/Samhain (and not just because of the proximity to my birthday!). As a little girl I thrilled with genuine terror (and secret longing) at the thought of witches, insisting that Ma and Daddy should put horseshoes up at both the front and back doors, and sleeping with an extra horseshoe by my bed for luck! We lived in a new house built on what had been farmland, so (usefully) we turned up the odd horseshoe in the garden, as well as fascinating remnants of clay pipes...and whilst my little sister played at schools (she was always the teacher, I had to be a pupil along with the dolls), I used to play at shops and (more relevant to this post!) museums, featuring lots of exciting finds from the garden (and even rudely rounding Ma up as one of the exhibits).

I don't need to worry about evil witches/thunderbolts where we are living now, as a houseleek appeared in our driveway last year, and a thoughtful bird or squirrel has seeded a rowan for us... But I still believe in magic!

Perfect day!

Details and pictures will follow tomorrow, but can you imagine anything better than a day spent teaching modular knitting, bumping into a SkipNorth friend (hello Ellen!), heading off to Loop (with Ellen plus Jane and Marjorie who were also modular knitting with me) for a spot of retail therapy, then finding that Erika Knight had dropped in, with some of her fantastic designs, to promote her 2 new books. I floated back to Camrbidge on a cloud, then returned home to find a parcel stuffed full of treats (kniterly and otherwise) from a secret pal, who is known to me only as the "secret socker".

This is my last Saturday off between now and January, so I knew it would be special, but I didn't know how special.

Cat joins knitting circle

Had huge fun at the KTog at the Cambridge Blue last night, where we were joined by Ajax, the pub cat. You can see a picture of him here. And, yes, for the second time within a week my image has been captured on film. That's me on the right of the picture. I'm amazed that Bekki's camera survived!

As ever, there were lots of gorgeous projects being worked on (especially Julie's crochet and Liz's shawl), and a great deal of laughter. It was good to see lots of bits of stash that had been traded during the two recent stash swaps being put to good use, too.

neglected spouse behaviour

You know you've been neglecting your husband when you discover that he's been watching Strictly Come Dancing... That he's been watching it so avidly that he can tell you who scored what...

For those of you who don't know my husband, he's a very intellectual chap, who usually spends his spare time writing learned articles, or immersed in tomes on philosophy or abstruse literary theory. And if you've not seen Strictly Come Dancing; think C-list celebs, funny frocks, sarcastic judges, and unintentionally hilarious facial expressions.

Still, at least we sat and watched the highlights together on Sunday. And I have to admit that his daughter was just as shocked to find out about his new viewing habit as I was. Though she tells me that they used to watch World's Strongest Man together when she was younger. I used to watch that with my Auntie Joan, whose other strange viewing quirk was playing endless videos of *anything* starring Paul Daniels whilst doing the ironing. And could that auntie iron? She even ironed drip-dry petticoats.

uncreative writing

After discovering my rapacious Scorpio dark side yesterday evening I thought I'd better investigate this:

You Are 24% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

Oh dear! I'm always joking about knitted dolls and sticking pins in people... anyway, have decided that finding things to post about by visiting blogthings is *not* the way forward. So this week my aim is to work smarter so that I can get more knitting time and thus have something more intersting to blog about! Must get some pix, too.

Me to a tee, not!

Your Birthdate: November 2

You're so intuitive, it's like you have a sixth, seventh, and eighth sense. You connect with others freely and easily - and you tend to have many best friends. Warm and caring, it's hard for you to close your heart to anyone. Affection is like air for you - you need to give and receive it to survive. Your strength: Your universal compassion Your weakness: Your unpredictable mood swings Your power color: Mauve Your power symbol: Butterfly Your power month: February

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Found the above whilst visiting Shona's blog. And as a certain "Secret Socker" who is spoiling me in the current round of SP wants to know a bit more about me, I couldn't resist giving it a go. But that description is *so* not me! Maybe I'll accept the compassionate bit. Mauve? I can't begin to imagine mauve as powerful. February. Huh! Give me October and November, anytime (but make October a bit more nippy and frosty than this one has been).

Nope, I get the feeling that I'm more of a typical Scorpio A quick trip over to Wikipedia suggests that the only famous person born on the same day and year as me is a Bosnian war criminal. I do remember reading years ago (in a Time Life book on the history of mathematics, which is the sort of thing that I have a hidden passion for) that more American presidents had been born on 2 Nov than any other date. And I notice that Marie Antoinette was also born on 2 November. Bet she thought mauve was sissy, too.

But the best thing about my birthdate is that it is All Souls Day. I was due on 1 November, can you imagine what I'd have had to live up to had I been born on All Saints Day??!

Apart from dreaming of my birthday (am looking forward to it, especially as I have directed my beloved to here) I've had an amazingly taxing day at work, thanks an absence-of-customers situation and to a throat bug that has knocked all my colleagues for six. Only one could come in, and she had such terrible sinus pain that I wished I could've sent her home. Bang goes my day off tomorrow, too. World domination will have to wait until next week!

no, I did not say that

Help! Am expecting sacksful of protest mail from older knitters objecting to the quote from me in today's Cambridge Evening News. They left a crucial word out of the following statement: "ours was possibly the first knitting group outside London"...and the crucial word is "pub". (Note distressing perponderance of alcohol in recent posts).

ps am delighted to note that the areticle and pic aren't available in the online edition, so at least I'll only be getting letters from "outraged of Ely" and "disgusted of Newmarkedt".

2 umbrellas, no hairbrush

Today started innocently enough (overslept, had 7 minutes to get to bus, decided to go for tousled hair and just a slick of lipstick look). At work by 8, powering through the to-do list. And then...

Colleague arrived late. Just as I was reprimanding her, the 'phone rang. Yes, my pet bugbear, the personal 'phone call during trading hours. It was the Cambridge Evening News, for me. Answered a few quick questions (no, the group is not called Cambridge Stitch'nBitch. Why not? Because we're not very bitchy!), promised to get in touch with my top knitting tips and returned to work. 'Phone rings again. The photographer will be along sometime between 9.30 and 5. Photographer?????

Those of you who know me know that I hate, detest and abhor having my 'photo taken. If you look at the SkipNorth pics, I'm hiding behind my hat. In Cambridge KTog pics I'm the one holding my knitting up in front of my face (whilst simultaneously downing a pint of cider to calm my nerves). Explain to journalist that my face breaks camera lenses. That I'm rushed off my feet. No, no way can they take my picture in the store. Oh, outside, OK then. Can you see how I fell into the trap?

Stick myself back into my busy day and forget about the looming threat. But all too soon... Dash downstairs to grab my knitting (if they must take a pic, at least it should feature my knitting) and find hairbrush, warpaint etc.

I have knitting, I have lipstick, I have 2 umbrellas (2?) (how?) (why?) but no sniff of a brush or comb.

The awful truth is scheduled to appear in the Cambridge Evening News on Thursday...

questions, questions

We've been asked to answer a few more questions for SP, so here goes... I have to say that the only one I found easy to answer was "favourite yarn"! I don't really think about having favourites, there's a whole world out there to explore. (Oh, and for any cynical friends saying "yes, but we all know your favourite drink" it was a close-call, I do like a G&T now and then, as several of you witnessed on Tuesday, ahem).

List your favorite:

Actor - I don't watch many films or much TV, so this one is rather difficult. But I do go all gooey over Luke Wilson and the spectaculalry desirable man who plays Dr Kovac in ER. Hmm, which one? Make it the guy who plays Dr Kovac...
Actress - Juliette Binoche made a real impression when I saw _The English Patient_ quite a few years ago.
Animal - hare. I also love it when I find frogs and hedgehogs in the garden. Favourite bird: owl.
Band - Rolling Stones, though my tastes really veer towards world, early and classical music.
Book - only one?! Then it will have to be a poetry anthology. The one I keep dipping into is _The Thunder Mutters: 101 Poems for the Planet_ edited by Alice Oswald.
Bubble Bath - my favourite addition to a bath is one of Lush's bath melts, especially the "Nude" variety. But they don't create bubbles. So I'll have to say Faith in nature's foam baths, especially the seaweed one. The most important thing is that my bath products are cruelty-free and as natural as possible.
Candy - dark chocolate, especially if combined with cherries or ginger. If you don't count choc as candy, I've recently discovered some gelatine-free sour jelly babies, far healthier than the Haribo Tangfastics I sometimes gorge myself on.
Colour - Green, but not bottle or kelly green-type greens (too much like my school uniform!), I prefer sharp greens, mudgy greens, olive greens, yellow greens, acid greens.
Drink- I love cloudy, sharp, apple juices, especially if they've been fremented. Oh, let's be honest: I'm a cider drinker!
Flower - Aquilegia. But I find autumn fruit and baerries and fungus every bit as beautiful.
Food - a plate laden with celery, rye and caraway bread and goat's cheese (not the very hard kind of goat's cheese, and not the soft spready sort, either, it has to be one of those log-shaped ones, mmm) . And can I have thinly-sliced apple (a nice sharp one) and some grapes on there, too, please? (Plus, if the vegetarian members of the family aren't watching, some air-dried ham eg parma).
Lip Balm - now, here, I really am defeated. I don't like anything too soft and gooey (prefer sticks to pots), it has to be cruelty-free and I prefer organic. Not big on flavoured ones, but my husband gave me a nice one with a little hint of honey that he got free from somewhere.
Lotion - Neal's Yard cocoa butter body lotion, it has the most glorious smell, from the frankincense, I think.
Movie - For a feelgood movie: _Practical Magic_. (Though I thinked I like the original book, by Alice Hoffman, even more). And I have every Wallace & Grommit film! (Strictly for the knitting scenes, you understand). But as a teenager I was totally captivated by _Lacombe, Lucien_, set in wartime France, it is the heartbreaking tale of a boy who is refused entry to the Resistance, so becomes a Nazi sympathiser, just because they'll let him join in, only then he falls in love with a Jewish girl. I wonder how I'd feel about the film if I saw it again now?
Place- none in particular but I'm at my happiest walking along windswept coasts and by rivers. And I do love the study in our house. It has a radio/cd player, comfy chairs, the computer, lots of books, a little yarn, two desks and (more often than not) my husband.
Song - Well, if I had a glorious singing voice I think I'd spend my days singing "The Irish Rover". And I've finally got the wherewithal to play my vinyl collection again (yay!) so keep singing along tunelessly to "Love Over and Over" by Kate and Anna McGarrigal.
TV Show - None (unless you count my ER habit, which is strictly for the pleasure of Dr Kovac) Yarn- Noro silver thaw, closely followed by Noro silk garden.
Vacation Spot - this is even harder than favourite book! I give up!

from fuming to laughter

The last couple of days have been stressful, but not without their lighter moments. Yesterday thieves managed to leave my store with vast quantities of items that did not belong to them. I was beyond p*ssed off but, happily, it was KTog night, and gin and the company of knitters worked wonders on my mood. Then today, whilst giving my statement, I almost stole the constable's pen! And there may be a prosecution in the offing (no, not of me for the pen).

Meanwhile (over at Jan's blog) I've discovered a sublime combination of yarn and my favourite artist. Have hintingly emailed details to my husband!

SP9

Having had such a wonderful time during SP8, I've signed up for SP9. As before, it seems that I need to publish my answers to the following questionnaire.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I adore natural fibres (especially merino, silk and anyhting that felts) although mohair makes me sneeze! Until a couple of months ago, Noro Silk Garden was my favourite, but now I'm utterly smitten with Noro Silver Thaw: the angora doesn't shed and it doesn't make me sneeze. I like good quality blended yarns and do use acrylic and novelty yarns but have rather a lot of those piling up in my stash...

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a wonderful pouch for my circulars thanks to Francesca, my SP8 buddy, and assorted holders, vases, biscuit tins etc, too.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for some 30 years now. My Ma and nanna tried to teach me (tears and tantrums galore) but eventually I got a book and got on with it. I'm an intermediate knitter but really struggle reading charts.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I like citrus scents (bergamot, lemon and grapefruit rather than orange); woody smells (cedarwood, frankincense) and spices (ginger, amber). Apples and pears are good, too.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I adore dark chocolate! Other than that, I really prefer savoury snacks or luscious cherries and raspberries. Ooo, and blueberry youghurt raisins: scrumyum!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I'm a novice crocheter but apart from darning and sewing buttons back on (sssh! don't tell my husband I'm actually rather good at those!) I don't really dablle in any craft apart from knitting. I have tried to spin with a drop spindle but my wrist screamed in pain. Would love to have a wheel and a loom (oh, and lots of spcae!) I'm quite keen to have a go at dyeing.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Rather an eclectic mix: world music (especially traditional dance); medieval, renaissance and baroque; some 20th century classical composers; folk; French cafe tunes (Charles Trenet etc); Django Reinhardt and other 1930s jazz; Cole Porter and The Rolling Stones. No MP3 facilities.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love autumnal shades and most reds/purples/oranges/ pinks; greens (especially rather acid or leafy ones) are my top favourite; I adore the crazy mixes that Noro put together. I'm not all fond of "baby" pastels and (for reasons I cannot fathom) I've not been much into blue for a few years now.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married with a 26-year old stepdaughter and a delightful, elderly cat, Jiminey, who always manages to evade the camera.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes to all the above, but I'm really particular about ponchos: they have to be very smart and to flatter me.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Small projects: scarves (love coming up with new designs), hats, gloves and baby clothes. I simply cannot make socks to fit myself. Somehow I always either make the leg too narrow (I've rather chunky legs) or the foot a bit too short (must have long toes). My (slimmer, slightly smaller-footed) sister does rather well out of my inaccuracies!

13. What are you knitting right now?
A modular scarf, using Twilleys Freedom Spirit in a glorious blend of pinks with tiny highlights of yellow and blue.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I've got very wide-ranging tastes. I can no longer use very short circs (shooting pains in the hand if I try!) but, as I knit on the bus a lot, I do love circulars and short pins, I'll often use dpns for my modular prjects. My current faves are a pair of short peace fleece needles and I love Brittanys (looks and feel). I also crave more colour...love the look of gorgeous coloured transpartent plastic needles, adore the beads bedecking peace fleece needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No yarn winder, but I have a creaky metal swift that belonged to my grandmother.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I hate to think! I've a nasty feeling that I've a cardigan that I sarted about 7 years ago in my attic; and that my parents' attic may harbour things from nearly 30 years ago.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
If this is holidays as in festivals, then I love harvest and spring celebrations. I'll never forget the Erdeven Onion Festival in Brittainy (France, a carnival with a parade, and lots of stalls including one with over 40 varieties of onion. there were even more types of garlic and almost as many apple ciders. I do enjoy Christmas, but as I work in a gift shop I'm usually totally exhausted.
If this is holidays as in vacations, then give me plenty of fresh air; coasts and riverside walks, scenic train journeys (especially steam trains); interesting museums (especially social history/folk life) and amazing knitting shops. Having said that, 2 of my favourite trips have been to Vienna and Stockholm!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn!!! Library book fines (must get more organised). I've also got a few frogs, hares and owls.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Books: I love anything new and inventive but have snapped up most of what I desire on publication. Can't get hold of the Twisted sisters Modular patterns in the UK, though.
Magazines:I subscribe to Selvedge (a fabulous UK textiles magazine) and buy most issues of Interweave Knits, Knitting (a UK publication) and VK. I've also fallen in love with a bizarre, arty tome called Foxy Dreamy, Yes Indeedy, which features the somewhat adult adventures (passive dope smoking, lust) of a group of knitted toys.


21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Patience!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I try to be a sock knitter (see q12). I've got rather chubby feet, European size 40/UK 6.5-7.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 11/02 (All Souls Day)

It really does seem rather introspective and greedy filling this in!

je m'amuse

Whilst this is not a good thing to admit on a knitting blog, I have to admit that I really haven't been caught knitting much for the last 2 or 3 weeks. Caught stressing, yes, caught overworking, and caught sniffling, too. But not knitting.

After yet another sleepless, coughing-fit-filled night on Tuesday I decided to take myself in hand. Booked myself a massage and promised myself a day along the lines of "follow your nose wherever it goes...". And my nose took me here, S'Amuser, leading me into a bizarre and entertaining venue which opened a couple of weeks ago. It is quite crazy but lots of fun. One of the "muses" sits you down (actually you're perched vertiginously on top of a very high up chair) and works through an extraordinary process to come up with your signature blend. That's all I'm telling you, as I don't want to spoil the fun.

Normal knitting news should be resumed tomorrow evening...